Increasing the number of employment visas is a key to erasing the pressure of illegal immigration, said Tom Chapman, executive director of the Iowa Catholic Conference.

Chapman discussed illegal immigration and related misconceptions Monday night in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.

“I don’t think people are illegal.” Chapman said. “They do illegal things.”

He related illegal immigration to a speeding ticket.

“Just to be here is not a felony in the United States,” he said.

There are about 5,000 employment visas a year for immigrants, and Chapman said this number should increase.

“Part of the answer is going to be in having a decent number of visas,” Chapman said. “Once there’s a real chance for people to do it the right way, they will.”

Chapman said some of the reasons there are illegal immigrants coming to America is because of the conditions in Mexico. He said 50 percent of the population in Mexico lives in poverty and there is a lot of debt. Perhaps a third of the people there is unemployed, Chapman said. Having the employment visas increase in number could help prevent those people from coming here illegally.

“We won’t need to worry so much about the border,” he said.

Chapman addressed the misconception that illegal immigrants drain American resources without contributing anything. He said illegal immigrants contribute between $40 million and $60 million back into the tax systems in Iowa and $7 billion to social security nationwide. He said small towns, such as Postville, are growing because of illegal immigrants.

“This is a very complex problem,” Chapman said. “I really want to put out and advocate for what we think is important for immigration reform.”